ch.5 - (Becoming a Professional Nurse: Defining Nursing and Socialization In Practice) black

Why Define Nursing?

Having an accepted definition provides a framework for nursing practice. A definition establishes the parameters (or boundaries) of the profession and delineates the purposes and functions of the work of nursing. In addition, a definition guides the educational preparation of aspiring practitioners and guides nursing research and theory development.

ANA’s 2021 definition of nursing

“Nursing integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alleviation of suffering compassionate presence. Nursing is the diagnosis and treatment of human response; and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, groups, communities and populations in recognition of the connection of all humanity”

Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice

reflects on the “who,” “what,” “where,” “when,” “why,” and “how” of the practice of nursing, an intentional format that sets flexible boundaries on the scope of practice because changes in scope of practice and overlapping responsibilities are inevitable in our current and future health care system

Nursing’s Social Policy Statement: The Essence of the Profession

defined contemporary nursing practice in terms of six essential features of:

1. Provision of a caring relationship that facilitates health and healing

2. Attention to the range of human experiences and responses to health and illness within the physical and social environments

3. Integration of objective data with knowledge gained from an appreciation of the patient or group’s subjective experience

4. Application of scientific knowledge to the processes of diagnosis and treatment through the use of judgment and critical thinking

5. Advancement of professional nursing knowledge through scholarly inquiry

6. Influence on social and public policy to promote social justice

Code of Ethics for Nurses

“Nursing encompasses the prevention of illness, the alleviation of suffering, and the protection, promotion, and restoration of health in the care of individuals, families, groups, and communities”